Dissociative identity disorder
A chill ran through my body as I rustled through the bamboo forest.
The person in front of her looked with interest at her gradually paling face. "Well, do you have any last words?"
Bai Qiu forced herself to calm down. Since this place was designated as a restricted area, it meant that the person was keeping the murder a secret. The maids were very secretive about this place, so the king must have tacitly approved of it being a forbidden area.
If the king could grant permission to protect this person from committing a crime, then this person's identity must be extraordinary.
However, she had learned a great deal about the princes and nobles of the central imperial city from Qinghe's stories over the past few days, but none of them matched the age of the person in front of her.
"Since there are no last words, then I'll have to make my move." The man maliciously pushed the sword a few inches further into his hand, and a sharp, piercing chill instantly ran down his fragile neck.
In a flash, an important message flashed through her mind: "Your Highness Prince Qi, please reconsider."
The sword stopped, unable to advance any further. The man frowned and asked, "How do you know who I am?"
Great, I made the right bet.
She knew she had escaped a calamity. As a maidservant to Princess Jialing, if she had died, the entire Yinshan tribe would have been implicated.
The envoy of the Da Li Dynasty is also in the Yinshan tribe. Even if she is just a lowly maid, dying here would be tantamount to slapping the face of the Da Li Emperor.
Moreover, it is rumored that His Highness Prince Qi, who is gentle and refined and uninterested in power struggles, is actually a serial killer in private. If this gets out, wouldn't his good reputation of so many years be ruined?
Therefore, he was more afraid of being exposed and discovered than she was.
So she spoke up: "Moreover, today is His Highness Prince Qi's welcoming banquet, so why are you here?"
Yuan Chen stared intently, carefully examining the woman before him. A blade was held before her, yet her eyes held a calm composure, as if she were certain he wouldn't dare do anything to her.
They are certainly bold.
He scoffed, "You're only half right. I am His Highness, but I'm not that coward Yuan Qi."
Twins? Could this be related to some royal secret of the Silver Tenon tribe?
Yuan Chen sheathed his sword. Although he was ruthless and bloodthirsty, he was not a fool. What she said made sense. The envoys of the Great Li Dynasty were still here, and they could not be harmed casually.
"Sigh—" He sighed half-jokingly, and pulled Bai Qiuru up from the ground by her elbow.
Before she could even steady herself, he brought his face close to hers again: "I suddenly thought of a good idea."
Her brow twitched; she had a bad feeling.
"Now that you know my secret, and I can't kill you, why don't I make you mine?"
Located on the back mountain of the Central Royal City.
Liang Youan led Mu Chengwen to the agreed-upon place.
Feeling bored and somewhat reluctant, Mu Chengwen casually broke off a branch that was sticking out from the side of the tree.
“My brother is making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s just a meeting, why does he have to hide in the mountains? It would be even stranger if someone saw him.”
“Today is His Highness Prince Qi’s welcoming banquet. Everyone is at the front, so no one will see us from the back mountain,” Liang Youan said.
"I was wondering why you've been acting so strange lately. It's one thing to always side with my brother, but you even brought me here to meet him. When did you two become so close?"
“Brother Mu is just concerned about you, why are you so resistant? If I had a brother who cared about me like that, I would be laughing in my dreams,” Liang Youan said.
"Then I'll give it to you," Mu Chengwen said nonchalantly.
Liang Youan really wanted to sigh. He was so lucky but didn't know it.
"We've arrived." Liang Youan saw the tall figure standing with his hands behind his back in the distance and called out, "Brother Mu."
Mu Chengwu turned around and saw his younger sister standing there safely, and was overjoyed.
"Wenwen, it's so good to see you're alright," he said, circling around his younger sister, his handsome features radiating a newfound energy.
Mu Chengwen broke the warm atmosphere by asking, "Why are you here?"
“Your sudden disappearance worried your parents. It just so happened that the Shen family was looking for someone to serve as an envoy to the Dali Dynasty, so I came.”
"This is so dangerous, why did you come here?" Mu Chengwu asked worriedly.
Mu Chengwen finally saw his relatives and relaxed. He began to complain, "It's all because Father insisted that I attend that marriage selection banquet. It turns out that Prime Minister Shen is a cunning old fox who forced us to come here to help him complete his mission."
Mu Chengwu was both heartbroken and furious: "We sent you to the marriage selection banquet hoping to secure a bright future for you, but Prime Minister Shen actually did this! Come on, brother will take you out!"
Liang Youan didn't want to delay the siblings' reminiscing, so she stood a little further away, but she could still vaguely hear them talking. The angry young general dragged his sister over, pulling her along with his free hand.
She was momentarily dazed, until Mu Chengwen shouted, "Brother, I'm not leaving—"
She hurriedly said, "Brother Mu, we can't leave. We have a mission to complete."
Mu Chengwu: "What mission?"
Liang Youan hesitated for a moment, then said, "I can't say. Anyway, we can't leave, and we still have companions here. Don't worry, Brother Mu, we'll be fine."
"partner?"
Meanwhile, their good friend Zhu Qinghe was drinking and having fun at Yinxianglou, chatting happily with her new friend Xiaoruo.
In front of the bedchamber, Shen Er asked Ya'er, "Where did the princess go so late?"
Ya'er, completely oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, chuckled and said, "The princess said she's going to have some fun."
Shen Er's temple twitched. Looking for fun? Very well. He only missed it for a second, but this little rascal is really a handful.
As the last piece of sandalwood burned out and turned into ash at the bottom of the incense burner, the person on the bed slowly woke up.
Yuan Qi pressed his throbbing temples, his voice hoarse: "Tingming, what time is it?"
Tingming replied promptly: "It's already Chenshi (7-9 AM)."
Yuanqi got up, dressed, and washed up. He asked, "What happened yesterday? Why do you feel so tired?"
Tingming looked strange, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
He stood in front of the basin of water, and when he looked down, he was startled to see a thin handprint on his face. The mark was faint and not serious, so the person who hit him must not have been very strong.
Yuanqi pressed it, his eyebrows furrowed, it still hurt a little.
What's going on?
Tingming stammered, "...Yesterday you... oh no, I mean His Highness Yuan Zhen, flirted with a girl and then got beaten up."
Yuan Qi's expression went blank for a moment, then he asked, "Where is that girl?"
"They're in the outer room."
He covered his face: "...You go out first, let me have some peace and quiet."
The steam from the hot tea in front of her blurred her vision, and Bai Qiuru remained silent with her eyelashes lowered.
The silence was broken only when the person opposite her coughed softly: "Don't you want some tea, young lady?" His tone was gentle and refined, and Bai Qiuru finally looked up.
The person in front of me had a refined appearance and a gentle demeanor. The long, slender knuckles of his hand resting on the teapot handle resembled a distant, serene mountain painting.
It's truly unbelievable that just yesterday, this person was wielding a blood-stained longsword, slaughtering lives, his eyes filled with bloodlust and malice, like a demon descended to earth.
Bai Qiuru: "Your Highness, can you tell me what exactly happened?"
The man in white then realized what had happened and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, things happened so suddenly, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yuan Qi."
"Judging from your attire, you must be a member of the Li Dynasty who came with Princess Jialing, who is here for the marriage alliance. Your princess's husband, Yin Luoha, is my nephew."
Bai Qiuru asked, "I know all of this, but Your Highness, are you not going to explain the difference in your behavior yesterday and today?"
Yuan Qi: "This is a long story."
Bai Qiuru: "Then let's get to the point."
Yuan Qi hadn't expected her to be so direct, and his eyebrows twitched: "I've always heard that women of the Li Dynasty are reserved and tactful, but seeing them today, I realize they're not entirely like that."
Bai Qiuru: "After all, this matter concerns my life and death. If I were to remain subtle and tactful, wouldn't that be too foolish?"
Yuan Qi apologized again: "I'm very sorry to have startled you, young lady. Perhaps you've heard of dissociation syndrome?"
Bai Qiuru was somewhat surprised that the rumored gentle and refined Prince Qi actually suffered from dissociative identity disorder.
The Bai family were in business, and in his early years, her grandfather had traveled all over the country and heard and seen many strange and wonderful things, which he had told her.
She said, "It is said that people who suffer from dissociative identity disorder behave strangely and are mentally unstable, like idiots, but Your Highness is clear-headed and thinks normally."
Of course, it wasn't normal for him to threaten her with a sword yesterday.
No, it's not just abnormal, it's like he's become a completely different person.
However, she didn't suffer any loss. After she slapped him, his servant came back and took him away. She was worried that she might have overreacted and that the slap might have caused some serious consequences.
However, the person in front of her didn't seem to intend to pursue the matter.
At this moment, the handprint on his jade-like cheek was exceptionally clear in the sunlight, and she looked away with a rare sense of guilt.
“Every month on the fifteenth, I turn into the same state as yesterday. Yesterday, when I was supposed to attend the welcoming banquet in front of the courtyard, my servant was supposed to go in my place. I was locked in the forbidden garden, but you broke in.”
Bai Qiuru: "I'm sorry for trespassing into the forbidden garden, but I was looking for a thief who took my ancestral necklace."
She used the same excuse she gave yesterday; otherwise, she couldn't very well say that she was following the messenger.
This place is a forbidden area. It's one thing for a mere maid to accidentally wander in, but if an envoy has also been here, then it won't be so easy to deal with if word gets back to the king.
"So that's how it is," Yuan Qi said.
"Since that's the case, we're both at fault. Why don't we reconcile and keep this secret to ourselves? What do you think, young lady?"
Bai Qiuru: "I will obey Your Highness's orders."
"Put me down!" Early in the morning, before Zhu Qinghe could even figure out what had happened last night, she was suddenly hoisted onto someone's shoulder. In the midst of the dizziness, Zhu Qinghe's messy hair covered her face.
"If you don't want others to know that Princess Jialing came to a place like Yinxiang Pavilion, then shut up and behave yourself." A cold voice rang out; it was Shen Er.
Then a squad of guards burst into the inner courtyard, shouting, "Don't move! We've received a report that a fugitive is hiding in Yinxiang Pavilion. Close both the front and back doors and submit to inspection!"
Zhu Qinghe grabbed Chen Er's belt, pulled her head up, and her thoughts became clearer.
With such a large entourage, could these guards be here for her?
Shen Er clicked his tongue lightly: "What time is it? Can't you just let go of my belt? What's your obsession with it?"
Zhu Qinghe: "...You're overthinking it. Hurry up and leave, stop talking nonsense."
"Wait a minute." As they reached the door, a guard impatiently stopped them. "Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear what our captain of the guard just said? No one here is allowed to leave!"
Shen Er shrugged, bent over, and grinned slyly, looking every bit the rogue: "Sir, this is my family's bride from the underworld. If we don't go back soon, we'll miss the appointed time."
The guard glanced at him a few times, then looked at the person on his shoulder. She was upside down like a scallion, so his face was not clearly visible, but judging from her figure, she was a beautiful young woman.
He said sarcastically, "Marrying a living person into a ghost marriage, doesn't seem like a lot of money."
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